AGO AG Energie + Anlagen welcomes Italian local politicians

AGO AG Energie + Anlagen (cusip number: A0LR41; ISIN:
DE000A0LR415) welcomed an Italian delegation for an intensive exchange of climate protection programs by using regenerative energy. The mayors and local policy makers coming from the Italian region of Apulia put emphasis on the visit of two energy supply plants implemented by AGO AG Energie + Anlagen in Germany. Apulia is situated in the south east of Italy with an area of approximately 19,000 km². With its 4.1 million inhabitants it is the so called heel of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula.

Emphasis was put on the visit of the highly developed Energy Center EVC II which was erected by AGO for the US chip producing company AMD in Dresden. Another significant subject was the introduction of the biomass cogeneration plant in Alperstedt. Since the beginning of 2007, this biomass cogeneration plant, which was awarded the Innovation Price for medium-sized companies in 2007, on a CO2 neutral basis supplies one of Europe's largest greenhouses with heat and feeds electricity into the public grid. Using wood chips as fuel results in high cost advantages for the client and in an annual saving of 12,000 tons of CO2 as opposed to fossil fuels. The construction of similar biomass heating stations and biomass cogeneration plants respectively and their subsequent operation are also planned in Italy.

"Apart from growing wine, growing olives is a flourishing economic factor in Apulia. This region is Italy's largest olive oil producer. The continually accruing trimming waste from the olive trees can be chopped and recycled. Currently, the trimming waste is used for heating purposes in bakeries or delivered to less efficient heating stations in more than 200 km distance. The rest remains unused and decays. Here, AGO sees a considerable potential for local energy recovery" according to Hans Ulrich Gruber, member of the Board of AGO AG Energie +

Anlagen. According to the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Germany e.V., Italy basically can be considered one of Europe's most interesting markets for renewable energies. "The Apulian delegation's visit to Germany underlines Italy's political interest in AGO's business activities.

Both, Italy's legal target to increase the share of renewable energies from currently 7 percent to 22 percent by 2012 and the remuneration level express the enormous potential of our energy supply solution. Italy's remuneration level per kWh fed into the grid with currently 29.5 Cent lies far above the German value. With our subsidiary AGO energia Turin which we already founded in 2007 and our longtime established foreign distributor Pro Ambiente we see ourselves well positioned in the Italian market. Contractual agreements for the construction of an initial energy supply plant in Italy have already well proceeded", according to Helmut Peetz, member of the Board of AGO AG Energie + Anlagen.